Then when I moved back to Wales to have a cache of more knitting ladies and wonderful yarns, sales went international due to my participation in fashion trade fairs in NY & London. SH: Nordstrom, boutiques on Madison Avenue in NY and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and lots of other high-end department stores.
JH: I remember seeing your clothing being sold in the estimable Henri Bendel, haute couture in New York City. I guess I got lucky – Nature Support I call it! I paid back my loan by the end of the first season. When they heard “Bergdorf’s”, they all wanted to place an order. When I went to see buyers in other stores, they asked where I had already sold my sweaters. So then I found some knitting ladies, and started production.
When I took the samples to the sweater buyer at Bergdorf Goodman’s in Manhattan, she ordered quite a bit. My parents loaned me some money to get started, to make some samples. Then I moved to back to my hometown, NYC, and found a yarn company in the US which made heathery type yarns like the ones I loved from Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. SH: I borrowed a knitting machine when I moved to Ireland and started selling some sweaters in craft shops. JH: how did you start up as a creator and designer, running your own business in Ireland? We always went to museums and galleries, growing up in New York City. SH: I had wonderful history teachers, and always loved history, so a lot of my designs were drawn from historical fashions and artists. Textiles from my mom, and print-making, sculpture, photography, and more from my dad. SH: I never went to art school, but we always did art at home with both parents, who had different skills. JH: Did you study art or design in school? She was also a fabric buyer, so textiles filled her own sewing room and I got to learn about and enjoy all different fabrics and ways to use them. SH: My mom always made clothes, and was fairly fashion conscious, so I guess it rubbed off on me. I spoke to Susanna, a successful sweater designer who’s lived and worked in New York City, Ireland and Wales, about how she’s employing her design, knitting and sewing skills for women these days. Going out to the mailbox and for groceries might be the most fashion-demanding events of the week. These days, many women are staying home in pajamas or sweats.
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